Sunrise at Makuu's...
"Makuu! Wake up!"
Makuu jerked awake from a peaceful night's sleep, and all thanks to someone yelling at him.
"Huh? What in the world?"
Makuu was wide awake now, and once his vision adjusted to the morning light, he noticed Masika floating right next to him.
"Masika, you better have a damn good reason for waking me up."
{This better not be another one of her jokes, or I swear I'll...}
"Have you seen Talib? It's an emergency and I need him now!"
"How am I supposed to know where Talib is? He's a bird for heaven's sake! He's probably just flying around doing whatever he wants."
Makuu swam over to shore, eager to get out of the water for a little while. Anxious about keeping the conversation going, Masika followed him.
"Well, when did he leave? Which direction did he fly towards?"
"Why do you need him so badly?"
{Jeez she's persistent.}
When they reached the water's edge, Makuu climbed out and walked over to a grouping of acacia trees. He felt relieved when his scales began to cool off under the shade provided by the leaves.
"I need him to fly around the swamp where Zaire and I held our bet. The bet's been over for hours, but Zaire hasn't come out of the swamp. I'm worried that something happened to him."
"Zaire seems like he can take care of his own just fine. Maybe he just got lost."
"Trust me, my brother never gets lost!"
"Okay, okay, calm down. You're worried about your brother, I get that. However..."
"What? Come on, Makuu, what do you want to say?"
"Well...maybe you should be a little more patient and give Zaire some time to show himself. Who knows, maybe he's left the swamp and is on his way back here right now."
"He's not on his way back here!" Hodari called from his look-out post in a nearby tree.
"Oh really? How do you figure that?" Makuu questioned.
"Cause he's already here!"
"He is? Oh thank goodness!" Masika breathed. "Come on, Makuu! Move that lazy hide of yours!"
"Stop calling me lazy!" Makuu snapped, stalking past Masika and into the acacia grove to meet up with Zaire.
{What in the world took him so long to get back? I hope he didn't get into any trouble while he was gone, or else Simba will have my tail.}
When Makuu snapped himself out of his thoughts, he spotted Zaire making his way through the acacia grove. However, something wasn't right. As he got closer, Makuu noticed that Zaire was covered in blood and limping.
{What the? What in the world happened to him?}
"Zaire?!" Masika cried, dashing out from behind Makuu and over to her brother. "What the hell happened? Who did this to you? I swear that when I find them, I'll tear them to shreds! No one messes with my family and gets away with it!"
{I don't believe this. Who could possibly be strong enough to nearly kill Zaire?}
"D...don't bother," Zaire rasped. "You...you don't need to worry about it now. I took care of it."
"What do you mean? What did you take care of? Zaire?" Masika tried asking her brother, but from what Makuu could tell, Zaire didn't seem to hear his sister.
"Masika, he doesn't sound or look good," Makuu said. "We need to get him some help, immediately."
"I agree."
"I don't," Zaire argued.
"Excuse me?" Masika questioned.
"I...I don't need any help! I'll be fine. I just need some rest."
"You need to do more than just rest, Zaire," Makuu spoke in a firm voice. "You need healing, whether you like it or not."
{Oh, for the love of...ugh...are all River Valley crocodiles this stubborn?}
"I...I...s...said..." Zaire never finished saying what both Makuu and Masika knew he was going to say before he stumbled forward and collapsed.
"Zaire!" Masika cried, rushing over to her brother's side and nudging him with her head. "Zaire? Come on, brother, get up! Wake up, please!"
Makuu watched Masika cry as she tried to wake Zaire, who was just barely but still breathing.
Masika lied down next to Zaire and wrapped herself around him, obviously trying to protect him from any further harm. Makuu, on the other claw, took the opportunity to see how bad Zaire's wounds were. Thankfully, most of the bleeding had stopped. Although, what caught Makuu's eye were the deep gashes that marked Zaire's snout.
{Those are definitely going to leave scars. It must have been one hell of a fight that Zaire got himself into. I wonder if those mystery crocodiles did this? If so, then I'd hate to think of what would happen to the rest of us.}
"It's alright, Masika," Makuu reassured. "You just stay here with your brother while I look for Rafiki and let him know what happened."
"Okay, but please hurry," Masika responded, her tear-filled eyes unwavering.
Makuu nodded and began to make his way onto the savanna, only to have Masika call after him.
"Makuu."
"Yes, Masika?" Makuu asked, twisting his head around to look at Masika, whose gaze was focused on him now instead of her brother.
"We don't know who did this to Zaire, but whatever happens, I have a feeling that this is just the beginning. I don't know what I would do if the same thing that happened to Zaire happens to you, too. Just, please be careful, for me."
When Masika spoke, Makuu felt a familiar wave of heat flow through his scales.
{Not that stupid feeling again! Whatever. I'll deal with it later.}
"No need to worry, Masika. I'll be fine. Promise."
A short silence follows.
"Oh, and Masika."
"Yeah?"
"Do you mind cutting the sappy talk? It sounds weird, especially coming out of your jaws."
"Ha! Just shut up and get going!"
Makuu and Masika smiled at each other. While Masika stayed to watch over Zaire, Makuu left to go find help.
***
Nearly half the day had gone by the time Makuu finally returned to his watering hole. He couldn't find Rafiki anywhere, but he found the lion guard, and they were the ones who found Rafiki. Unfortunately, the mandrill was on the opposite side of the Pridelands, but luckily for Makuu, the Guard was happy to go retrieve Rafiki for him, especially after he explained to them what happened to Zaire.
When Makuu did get home, the first thing he saw was Masika, now sleeping peacefully, curled around Zaire. He smiled looking at the scene in front of him and walked over to the siblings. As soon as Makuu reached them, though, Masika abruptly awoke and sprung into attack mode.
"I suggest you back off or I swear I'll..." Masika snapped, not realizing that it was just Makuu.
"Whoa! Masika! Settle down!" Makuu quickly responded as he reeled away from the female out of shock. "It's just me! Calm yourself! There's nothing to be afraid of!"
"Oh. Sorry, Makuu. I had no idea it was you. I thought you were someone else. You know, to finish the job on my brother."
It seemed like Masika was going to say something else, but she immediately closed her jaws and went back to looking over her brother, tears forming in her eyes.
{Oh great. Guess it's up to me now. Providing solace isn't exactly my strong suit, but I can't stand to see Masika in this condition any longer.}
"It's okay, Masika," Makuu consoled as he sat next to the female. "Zaire will be fine. The lion guard is bringing Rafiki here as we speak. It shouldn't be long now."
"I know, Makuu. I trust you. It's just...I can't lose my brother, not again. I may be upset with him regarding a whole bunch of things, as if that hasn't been made quite obvious by now, but that doesn't mean that I don't love him. Zaire is family, and family always looks out for each other, no matter what."
"Wait, you actually trust me?"
{I didn't think that was possible. No one ever really trusts me.}
"Of course I do, Makuu! To be perfectly honest, you're almost like a part of the family."
After she finished speaking, Masika did the unexpected and leaned against Makuu's body, placing her head under his jaw. At first, Makuu was surprised and confused, and uncertain of what to do. Eventually, Makuu did allow himself to relax and felt his own side press against Masika's. The extreme waves of heat that flowed through his scales from before were back, but this time, they didn't feel uncomfortable or fleeting in the slightest.
{This actually feels nice.}
Makuu could feel Masika rubbing the top of her snout along the bottom of his jaw, and he decided to return the affection. They forced themselves to move even closer to each other, their tails entwining in their embrace. For that moment alone, Makuu didn't think of anything else except for being there with Masika, comforting her, trying to keep her and Zaire safe from any further harm.
{This. Is. Perfect.}